...Will Work for Food

There are certain experiences in life that have the power to compel one to engage in philosophical introspection.  I sometimes travel between Niles, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana.  There is a certain intersection slightly south of the Michigan/Indiana state line at which you can sometimes see a man with a cardboard sign advertising his availability to work in exchange for food. Most of us have witnessed some iteration of this scene in one form or another, but I can never quite seem to escape the thought that there may not be quite that much to differentiate between that anonymous card-carrying member of society and me.

We all undergo experiences in life that lead us, either directly or indirectly, to the present.  The cumulative effect of our life experiences have brought all of us to this particular point in time, and because of upbringing, politics, social pressure, education, personal beliefs, etc., we are performing our "roles" in this life.  Precisely, because of the aforementioned elements, and specifically because of our education, we are prepared to work in our chosen fields to, as they say, earn a living, bring home the bacon...put food on the table.  Consequently, we will all repeatedly "work for food" at least until we retire.

There are many of you that will relate to this educational trajectory.  Five years of undergraduate education, two years of graduate education, four years of internship, and twenty-two years in the labor market honing our hard earned skills have brought us to our own personal intersections.  Ones in which, no matter how sophisticatedly we state it, can only be summed up in one short sentence...will work for food.

Monteso Design + Construction Studio, in its ongoing effort to employ its skills, and consequently put food on the table, is accepting both design and construction projects.  Please feel free to contact us at 269-683-6126,  or at modstudio@aol.com.  Some of our work can be seen at Isidro Monteso's Face Book page.

One small step...one giant leap...

In July of 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off of the Lunar Module named Eagle onto the surface of the moon, and pronounced those most famous words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Perhaps not quite as momentous insofar as historical significance, but nonetheless significantly important as another small step in our professional development, is the production of this new blog.  As the blog title suggests, our emphasis will be on the art and craft of design in the built environment, with special emphasis on the arts and disciplines of architecture and structure.  For those familiar with Monteso Design Studio's tenuous relationship with cyberspace technology, it may come as some surprise to find these posts.  Consequently, it should be no surprise that this constitutes one giant leap, if not for mankind, at least for us.  So, not unlike the "Eagle", after which the Lunar Module was named, today we spread our wings...and fly.